Honduras Minister of the Presidency, María Antonieta Guillén met with IDB President

The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, reiterated on Thursday to the presidential appointed  Minister of the Presidency, María Antonieta Guillén, the interest of the agency to continue providing financial support for Honduras’s productive projects which directly affect the development and welfare of the Honduran people.

At a meeting in New York with the Honduran Vice President, IDB President Moreno expressed the importance for the multilateral organization to contribute to Honduras’ process of transition to the new government and to facilitate the reform process that the current administration intends take at the end of his term.

During the meeting, Minister Guillén expressed appreciation on behalf of President Pepe Lobo, for the  trust and substantial financial support provided by the IDB for the past four years, particularly after the 2009 political crisis.

She emphasized the success of certain programs funded by the IDB, especially for the Honduran society and health, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program known as “Bono 10 mil”.

“There is a measurable change in levels of reduction of extreme poverty and general poverty,” said Guillén, who referred to the progress of certain infrastructure projects executed by external financing, which are of vital importance in the national development plan, such as construction of the CA-5, Agricultural Corridor and the proposed modernization of Puerto Cortés.

The Minister stressed the importance of continuing the initiatives already undertaken in order to achieve their results in the short and medium term.

“We are all committed to seeing all these reforms work, and contribute in a positive way,” said the Honduran Vice President. “We believe that the IDB is a strategic partner to finance private sector strata, where the micro and small enterprises should play a major role.”

Moreno acknowledged the difficult situation that President Pepe Lobo had to confront at the beginning of his government, and said that the IDB sees, with satisfaction, that this year the country will peacefully and democratically participate in new elections.

At the end of the appointment, the IDB president announced that he will visit Honduras possibly in December, to continue to support in the areas of transition.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mireya Agüero and the representative of Honduras to the IDB in Washington, Marlon Tabora.